Spending Continues On Falmouth 110 Db Wind Turbines

The Town of Falmouth by December of 2009 installed the first municipally owned wind turbine in Massachusetts. The project manager that designed the installation was quoted: “One turbine produces three times more than the plant needs in one year.”

The town went forward building a second turbine , Falmouth Wind II, using federal stimulus funds called ARRA funds despite previous warnings from the manufacturer Vestas of America. The Town had previously prior to construction been provided with the Sound performance for the V82 turbine. This shows that the turbine normally operates at 103.2 decibels but the manufacturer has also stated that it may produce up to 110 decibels under certain circumstances. 110 decibels on the decibel scale is twice as loud as a 103-decibel wind turbine.

By July of 2017, Barnstable Superior Court Judge Cornelius Moriarty and the Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled both 110 decibel turbines are a nuisance and ordered the turbines shut down.

The Falmouth Select Board in a separate vote January of 2019, unanimously voted to direct Town Manager and Town Counsel to prepare three requests for proposals (RFPs). The first would be one to lease the land out of town for the turbines to resume operation. A second RFP would seek proposals from third parties interested in running the turbines at the out-of-town site.

The Falmouth Select Board voted to have no interest in seeing either of these turbines operating in the town of Falmouth again.

Today the cost of dismantling and relocating Wind 1 is estimated to be 5 million. The cost of relocating Wind 2 is estimated to be between $4 million and $5 million. The town endured over 10 litigation cases over noise and shadow flicker.

The cost of the litigation, legal fees and now continues engineering fees remain unknown.

Six months later in July of 2019, there still is no wind turbine RFP, Request for Proposal.

(Taxpayers still on the hook despite court shutdown June 2017 two years ago.)